(Information taken from 25th Alumni Banquet Booklet May 2008.  You may send updated information to webmaster at any time)

Spouse:  Chuck Downing

Children:  Shelby-16 & Jordan-12

     Following high school I attended Wayne State College and graduated with a BA in Business Education in 1987.  While at Wayne, I had the opportunity to complete my student teaching at an inner-city high school in Kansas City, KS.  This opened my eyes and made me realize that I wanted to work with "at-risk" kids.

     I moved to Des Moines, IA, for a year after college and married my husband, Chuck.  His job with the Iowa State Patrol led us to Denison, IA, in the fall of 1988.

     We knew that we would have to live there for a year.  My plan was for him to put in for a transfer as soon as that year was up so that I could get back to my inner-city kids.  I was searching for employment in Denison to pass my year and was hired as an instructor at the Denison Job Corps Center--a vocational training program that serves 300 disadvantaged youth at any one given time.  I have been working there ever since. I am currently serving as the Academic Manager--which means that my department provides students with opportunities to improve their basic reading and math skills and to earn a GED, high school diploma and drivers license.    It is a rewarding career that has not provided me with a huge bank account, but it has afforded me the opportunity to travel throughout the US and to touch the lives of thousands of kids.

     IN addition to working, I try to maintain our household.  My husband, children and I enjoy camping during the summer.  I try to capture all of our memories in my scrapbooks, but am finding that it is harder to keep things up-to-date as the kids become more and more active.